A university wouldn’t let a student defer her exams by four months because she didn’t provide ‘sufficient’ evidence that her dad had died.

Last month Saima Haq sent a request to the University of Westminster to take her exams in July instead of March, after she found out her father had passed away.

However, despite sending them photocopies of his death certificate, medical notes and burial certificate that her uncle had emailed her, the London university rejected her claim because they were not original documents.

University of Westminster (Picture: Getty Images)

‘My father passed away abroad two weeks ago unexpectedly,’ the first-year student wrote in an open letter on Twitter. ‘I made a mitigating circumstances claim to my university to defer my exams to July.

‘I explained in my statement that there is absolutely no way for me to provide any original documents at this time, since they are being processed in the country of his death, but I have given photocopies of all the evidence that my uncle has been emailing me.

‘All I have asked is to defer my exams to July so I can be at home with my mother. I am not asking for a free pass into second year. I am just asking to do my exams in July, like many other students do.

‘I’m in shock at how unreasonable the university has been. Why am I being treated like a liar just because my parent didn’t die in this country?’

As for the "unclear" medical opinion, I gave a copy of a handwritten medical report. Handwritten documents are the norm in poorer countries.